


A Bond Forged in Fire

by Maeve_MacTir



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Hunters, Hunter!AU, M/M, Mavin, Murder, Suicide, supernatural!AU, this one is going to HURT
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-19
Updated: 2014-04-27
Packaged: 2018-01-19 23:46:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1488634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maeve_MacTir/pseuds/Maeve_MacTir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Best friends forever, they had always said. To the death, if need be, which happened often in their line of work. When they finally realize that friendship doesn't even begin to cover their feelings towards each other, everything is wonderful. For a short while.  What they never expected was being faced with a choice. A choice that will kill one, and destroy the other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Job

**Author's Note:**

> One thing I want to make VERY clear. This is NOT a crossover, you will find no Sam and Dean here. Michael and Gavin are also not here to REPLACE Sam and Dean. They're just Michael and Gavin.
> 
> That being said, this is gonna be slow-paced fluff, and angst and a little bit of smut, maybe more as I go on. I've got quite a bit planned, so it's gonna be a long ride!
> 
> Please review, tell me what you think of it, it really does help!
> 
> Also, first fanfic for AH or Mavin or in general, so tips are always welcome!

The one thing Michael really hated about the industrial warehouse were they had taken up recidence was the fact that every single noise was amplified a thousand times because of the lack of curtains. The metal doors didn't help either. So when Geoff was banging on his bedroom door at 6:30 in the morning, it was an unpleasant wake-up call to say the least.

“Get up, you lazy fucks!” Geoff shouted through the door.

Annoyed, Michael yanked his blanket over his face in a desperate attempt to shut out the noise. Geoff, merciless as usual showed no quarter. Another bang and demand to wake up followed. Michael finally gave up and threw his pillow at the door in a pathetic attempt to silence him.

“FINE, we're up! Jesus”, he half-shouted, half-muttered at the door.

“Good! Breakfast in 15, if you ain't there, we're not making extra!” Geoff shouted through the door with a final bang and moved on, presumably to wake up the rest of the gang.

Michael threw his head back down on his matress and tried to convince himself that staying in bed WASN'T the best idea ever.

He probably would have just fallen back asleep and missed breakfast, if it wasn't for a confused sound coming from the other side of the room. It was somehwere between a groan and a mumble and wouldn't have made sense to anyone other than Michael. That was the sound of Gavin waking up. Michael had been sharing a room with the Brit for so long now, he knew Gavin almost as good as he knew himself, if not better.

Michael tossed the blankets of of his body and walked over to Gavin's bed, set to the task of 'Waking up Gavin Free', which was a lot more difficult than it sounded.

“Gavin, buddy, time to get up”, Michael said quitly whilst shaking the Brit's shoulder gently. Gavin tried to turn around, but the presure of Michael's hand on his shoulder kept him from doing so.

“Seriously dude, time to get out of bed”, Michael repeated, shaking Gav's shoulder a bit harder.  
“I don't wanna...” Gavin mumbled indistinctly.

“I know, but you have to”, Michael answered. Finally, Gavin propped open one eye and, after some blinking, seemed to recognize Michael's face.

“Micool?” he mumbled, finally starting to reach full consciousness.

“Yeah, it's me buddy, time to get out of bed, Geoff threatened to deny us breakfast agains”, Michael said, smiling at his best friend's sleepiness. But enough being nice. Time to really wake Gavin up. Michael stood up and without another word janked Gavin's sheets of his body. That woke Gavin up.

“Bloody hell Michael! I was awake, what'd you do that for!”, Gavin shouted as he bolted upright when the cold air hit his exposed legs.

“Because I need you to get out of bed, not just be awake”, Michael answered, a grin covering his face. Gavin mumbled some indistinct British curse words at him and begrudginly got out of his previously warm and cozy bed. Michael turned his back on his friend and threw on a pair of sweatpants. Normally he didn't wake Gavin that harshly, but today he felt just a little bit bitchy. The grin on his face widened when he heard Gavin almost slip on the pillow that was still lying on the floor by the door.

“What in the bloody hell is this doing here?” Gavin asked, still sleep-drunk after he'd recovered.

“I threw it at the door when Geoff woke me up”, Michael said, looking for some socks.

“In that case...” Gavin mumbled. “Michael?” continued.

Michael turned around, “Hm?”, and was hit square in the face with his pillow.

“Gavin, you little shit!” he cursed once he recovered. The only thing he heard was the Brit's laughter as he hurried out of the room and ran for the kitchen.

 

\-------------------------------------------------

 

“Morning Micool!” Gavin cooed when Michael entered the kitchen. He seemed to have woken up decently now. Michael suspected that the mug of jetblack coffee in his hand had something to do with that.  
“Shut it, shithead”, Michael responded, but he had a smile on his face.

“I have to admit, I didn't think you'd make it out of bed Michael”, Geoff said.

“You should be surprised that Gav made it out of bed”, Ray interjected as he downed a cup of coffee.  
“You mean that I got him out of bed?” Michael said as he sat down next to the Brit, drawing an unused mug towards him and filling it up with coffee. Geoff laughed and nodded. “Please. I've dragged this idiot out of bed so many times, I've lost count”, Michael scoffed as he downed half the cup on the first swallow.

Gavin started to respond but was interupted when a voice came from the door.

“'Morning guys”, came Lindsay's voice from the doorway. It was barely noticable, but Michael tensed up when he heard her voice. Nobody else noticed. Nobody, except for Gavin. His head shot sideways when he felt Michael's arm stiffen. The Brit gave his friend a little nudge with his knee, as if to say _It's okay dude, just keep your cool_. Michael smiled gratefully at Gavin, not in the least surprised the Brit was the only one who had noticed his reaction. Well, Gavin and Ray. Ray had just raised his eyebrows slightly, shrugged and turned back to his coffee. The rest of the crew though that Lindsay and him were still on good terms after their breakup, but Michael had never really felt comfortable around Lindsay after the breakup. She'd never told him what the breakup was about, instead he'd gotten some half-assed vague speech. Michael still wasn't sure how he felt about the whole breakup-thing. Sad, yes, certainly, but not quite sad... enough. The redhead couldn't explain it, but somehow he'd never felt as if he sadness quite measured up to the source of it. He really didn't know what to think of it. That was the reason he was so uncomfortable around Lindsay, not because of hard feelings, but because of... confusion. Michael felt Gavin's eyes on him and turned his head ever so slightly towards the blond. Gavin raised his eyebrows slightly, as if to ask _You okay?_ Michael smiled, and nodded in response. Pushing the topic aside he forced the genuine smile he'd given Gavin to stay on his face and turned towards Lindsay to wish her a good morning.

“That coffee?” Lindsay asked as she got closer to the table. Michael nodded and slid the pot over to her.

“Thank fuck”, she said as she poured herself a cup of the steaming black liquid.

Michael turned his attention back to his plate, noticing it was still empty. He was just about to reach for the pan with fried eggs when the object of his quest suddenly popped up right in front of him.

“The usual?” Gavin smiled as he held the pan in front of Michael's plate, already scooping some eggs onto it. Michael nodded, made a vague sound that could have been “Thank you”, and took another swig of his coffee. He'd have been more openly thankfull normally, but he could feel Lindsay's eyes on him and it made him feel extraoridinarily uncomfortable.He was soon pulled out of his stream of thought when the smell of eggs and sausage reached his nose.

“Hey look at that, my own personal butler!” Michael said just as Gavin deposited a slice of toast on Michael's plate to complete the breakfast.

“I'm not your bloody butler”, Gavin shot back, earning a smirk from Michael.

“Yeah, sure you're not. Thanks buddy”, Michael grinned as he stuffed a forkfull of eggs into his mouth.

“Alright team! Now that Michael and Gavin have elected to return to the land of the living, it's time to discuss the next job”, Geoff announced and tossed a newspaper on the table.

“Double murder, North Dakota, a couple has been found with their hearts ripped out”, Jack announced, after briefly scanning the page.

“You thinking werewolf?” Ray asked after swallowing his own breakfast.

“I would think werewolf, but then there's this”, Geoff answered and tossed another few newspapers on the table, all from the same week, and all sporting the same font-page. Murders, whole families found, with their hearts missing.

“Holy hell,” Michael said, “We're dealing with a fucking pack.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which it is decided who's going after the pack, Michael enjoys looking more than he probably should and Gavin not minding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes at the end.
> 
> This chapter just woudln't work, it's rushed, so, I'm sorry, but it'll get better, I promise ^^
> 
> Reviews always help :)

It was quickly decided this was not a one-man job, but sending the whole crew wasn't a good idea either. Too many hunters in one place got noticed too quickly, which could obviously give the pack a chance to just pack up and leave . In the end, everyone aggreed that sending two or three people was the best option. Teamwork was critical for this job, and everyone knew what that meant.

  
“Gavin and I'll go, we're the best team you've got”, Michael said as soon as the decision to send two people had been made.

And he wasn't wrong, Michael and Gavin had proven, time and again that they were the best team of hunters the crew had. Seeing a pair of well practiced hunters move together was always impressive to watch, but with Michael and Gavin, everyone was mesmerized. When Michael and Gavin were on a job, there was almost no distinguishing the two, they were so totally in synch with one another. They'd always had the ability to read each other perfectly and to comunicate with a single glace, sometimes nothing more than the smallest of gestures. They moved as a single unit, thoughts and actions one and the same. They were a perfect team, and a damn lethal one at that.

Michael didn't want to admit it, but there was another reason he was so eager to get away from the whole crew and just spend a few weeks on his own, working a job with Gavin. It wasn't just Lindsay he wasn't feeling comfortable around lately. For the past few weeks, ever since the break-up really, he had been feeling a bit out of place at the office... Like he didn't quite belong as much as he used to...

  
Jack dragged Michael out of his thoughts: “Well, yes, you are, but it's a whole pack guys, you've got no idea what you're going to find there”, he said, shooting them a worried look.

  
Jack wasn't the only one who looked worried, Geoff's eyes were full of concern. “I'd have to agree with Jack on this one guys, yeah, you two are good, but who know what'll happen, it could be 5 weres, it could be 20 weres”, he said, looking Michael straight in the eye.

Michael knew what the look meant. Geoff loved Gavin like his own son and would go to the end of the earth and back to keep the kid safe. Everyone around the office thought it a miracle that Geoff let Gavin hunt in the first place, but Geoff couldn't deny the good Gavin did while hunting. Gavin knew how to handle himself better than most hunters, and even though he had come close to biting it more than enough times, he'd never quite managed to get himself killed, and that was because of one person, and one person only. What Geoff failed to see here appearently, was that Michael cared about Gavin just as much, if not more, and would throw himself in front of anything to save Gavin Free. And had done so, Michael had scars enough to prove that.

  
“We can handle it, they don't stand a chance against Team Nice Dynamite” Gavin said, digging up an old nickname.

  
“I don't know...”, Jack said, still not reassured.

  
“I'll go with them”. Ray stood up and put his hand on Geoff's shoulder, “I'll keep them safe”, he said, nodding at the older man.

Michael felt his enthousiasm die down just a little more than it should at that announcement. Not just him and Gavin, then. Not that Michael didn't like Ray, Ray was easily his best friend next to Gavin, but Michael couldn't deny that he was dissapointed that it wasn't just going to be him and Gavin. He didn't quite know why. Michael looked over to the Brit and saw Gavin's eyes dim just a little bit. He didn't know why, but he felt better knowing that Gavin was dissapointed as well.  
Geoff's eyes lit up at the suggestion though. Even though Michael and Gavin were the best team the crew had, Ray was easily the best solo hunter. The remarkable thing about Ray was that he was good at hunting just about anything. Most solo hunters in their crew had developed a kind of 'affinity', if you will, for one monster. For Griffon that was Vampires, for Michael it had always been vengeful spirits and Gavin was especially adept at killing djinns, a more exotic type monster. Ray, however could hunt down just about anything with equal effiecency and viciousness. Not only that, but out of all of them Ray had the most experience dealing with werewolves, and had always been exeptionally vicious against the shapeshifting race. Nobody really knew why, but Ray carried a real grudge against the weres. All in all, Geoff was relieved Ray was joining Michael and Gavin. Geoff noded at Ray, and the whole office made sounds of agreement.

  
“Alright then lads”, Gavin announced, just a hint of dissapointment in his voice that only Michael picked up, “time to pack.”

\-----------------

Michael and Gavin headed back to their room after breakfast, to prepare and pack. At least, that's what Michael they were going to be doing, but as soon as Gavin had dragged the heavy steel door shut, he turned to Michael and asked: “You okay man?” Michael blinked, somewhat startled. Why would Gavin ask that? It wasn't as if this was the first time they'd faced a challenging hunt.

  
“Yeah, sure man, why wouldn't I be?” he asked, dragging out a large duffle-bag.

  
Suddenly, he felt a slim hand on his wrist, causing him to look up at Gavin.  
“I didn't mean the hunt, you doughnut, that'll be fine.. Lindsay, I meant Lindsay”, Gavin said, the concern in his deep green eyes plain as day. Michael smiled. Of course Gavin meant Lindsay, that was just Gavin. Nevermind facing deadly danger, possible chance of dying, Gavin didn't care about any of that. Gavin cared wether or not his best friend was okay. If it had been anyone but Gavin, Michael would have lied to their faces, but as soon as it was just him and Gavin, Michael always felt an enormous weight lift from his shoulders, and he felt the mask drop.  
“I don't know man, I really don't. I'm not heartbroken or anything, which is weird... It's just... confusing as fuck”, he confessed, running a hand through his curly ginger hair. Gavin's hand moved to his friend's shoulder and his green eyes connected with Michaels.

  
“It'll be fine dude, maybe it just... wasn't mean to be”, Gavin said, his voice quiet and peaceful.

  
Michael smiled, “That was sappy dude, even for you”, he laughed and punched Gavin in the arm. Gavin laughed at that, the sound making Michael feel better almost instantly.

  
“Well you know me, I'm just a big sap”, he said, and turned to his own closet to drag out the nesecary items.

  
“Yeah, I noticed that last week, when you chopped that vamp's head clean off”, Michael chuckled as he dug through his clothing looking for socks.

  
“I may be a sap, but I'm still a pretty damn good hunter”, Gavin shot back, taking out a clean shirt and dragging the one he was currently wearing over his head.

“I never said you weren't”, Michael said, turning around to face his best friend.

His eyes found Gavin just as the Brit pulled the shirt over his head. Michael's eyes wandered to Gavin's shoulder, where his friend's anti-possesion tattoo was, the black pentagram looking almost harsh against Gavin's pale skin. The redhead found his eyes wandering further, taking in the whole of Gavin's muscular back, watching as his friend flexed his shoulders. He was still staring when Gavin turned around, his new shirt halfway over his head. Michael felt his eyes wander further, this time downward, towards Gavin's abs and hips, noting how low the Brit's sweatpants were hanging. It was then that Michael realized what he was doing, blinked hard and turned around to hide the flush on his cheecks. What the hell was that? Did he just.. check Gavin out? He'd always known Gavin was an attractive man, but he'd never thought about Gavin in that way, never noticed his friend's beauty in the way he just had. Lucky for Michael, a knock on the door demanded his attention, preventing his mind from wandering deeper into that particular rabbit hole.

  
“I'll get it”, Michael said, maybe a little too quickly.

  
Gavin made a noise that probably meant something along the lines of Okay and started to change his pants. Michael flushed and all but fled the room.

  
“You okay there buddy? Your face looks like a fucking tomato”, Geoff greeted Michael as he exited the room.

  
“Yeah, I'm fine, just... I don't know, I'm fine”, Michael stuttered.

  
The older man raised his eyebrow and gave Michael a weird smile, but said nothing off it. “Listen, Michael, the reason I'm here... Look, you know I love Gavin like my own son, and, while I appreciate you being so enthousiatic about working this job, I gotta say well... I'm just worried, this could be a very dangerous gig, and...”, Geoff said, his voice uneven.

  
“Geoff, I know how much you care about Gavin, but don't forget, I fucking care about him too, he's my best friend man, I'll keep him safe”, the readhead answered, his face taking on a serious expression. Suddenly, Geoff's head snapped up and looked Michael dead in the eye. “Don't let anything happen to him Jones, I'll never forgive you if something happens to Gavin”, he said. Michael swallowed, taken aback by Geoff's seriousness.

  
“I won't”, he whispered, just as Gavin stuck his head out the door.

  
“Hey, Michael, do you know where my other boot is?” the Brit said whilst holding up one combat boot.

  
“Under your bedside table”, Michael answered without even thinking about it.

  
“Thanks man”, Gavin said, popped his head back in, and immediately tripped over his own feet, sending himself crashing to the floor. Michael gave a low chuckle and shook his head slightly. Geoff sighed and looked at the door, shaking his head along with Michael.

  
“Sometimes I worry about that kid”, the mustached man said.

  
“To be honest with you Geoff, I worry about that kid constantly”, Michael said and turned around. He entered the room to find Gavin on the floor, reaching for his other boot. Michael sighed again and started gathering his clothing.

  
“So, what did Geoff want?” Gavin asked whilst putting on his boots.

  
“He just wanted to know some general stuff about the gig”, Michael answered, vaguely, stuffing a few pairs of socks in his dufflebag.

  
Another knock at the door shut off whatever response Gavin was about to give. This time, it was the Brit who walked over to the door to drag it open, revealing Ray, already in his hunting gear, his pistol, a Belgian FN Five-SeveN, strapped to his hip.

  
“We're not leaving already, are we?” Michael asked, reaching over to his nightstand to grab his own, unloaded, gun, a powerful H&K MK23. That gun had saved more lifes than Michael could count, he'd always been very proud of it.

  
“Gavin what the hell are you looking for?” he added, when he saw the Brit had run over to one of their closest and was frantically rummaging through it.

  
“My silver combat knife”, Gavin answered, elbow deep in clothing.

  
“Why the fuck would your combat knife be in there?” Michael asked, raising an eyebrow. He reached into his own closet and pulled out his holster, which he routinely strapped to his thigh.

  
“Because he's Gavin fucking Free Michael”, Ray answered shaking his head as Gavin triumphanlty held up the silver-coated M9 bayonet, and promptly banged his head on the closet. Michael and Ray both laughed as Gavin's triumphant expression changed into the expression of a two year old who's just hurt himself.

  
He's so adorable Michael thought, laughing fondly at the Brit, now rubbing his head. Michael shook his head in confusion as that thought formed in his own mind. As usual, Ray saved Michael from thinking too much.

“No, we're not leaving, I was just gonna drag you two idiots to the armoury, we need to make some new silver bullets”, Ray said and turned around, expecting Michael and Gavin to follow.

  
“Yeah, we're on our way”, Michael said and stuffed his gun in its holster. He turned around to tell Gavin to followed, but when he turned he found Gavin looking at him with a weird smile whilst running his hand over the sore spot on his head. “What?” Michael asked. Gavin opened his mouth, seemed to think about what he was about to say and then shook his head.

  
“Nothing”, he said, and shook his hea, that silly grin of his decorating his unshaven face.

  
“Well then, get on with it!” Michael said, motioning towards the door. Gavin let go of his head and walked past Michael putting the combat knife in its sheath strapped to his thigh.

  
Suddenly it seemed as if Michael's hand took on a life of it's own, that the redhead wasn't in full control of his own body anymore. Out of nowhere, without any reason at all, Michael's hand went up and ran his hand through Gavin's hair.

  
“You big baby”, Michael added, and closed the door behind hem.

\--------------------------

 For the next few hours Ray, Michael and Gavin spent their time going over werewolf lore, making as many new silver bullets as they could resonably fit into their dufflebags and discussing likely scenarios. They worked, trying to focus on their tasks, none of them anywhere near the concept 'quiet', Gavin least of all. However much Michael wanted to chuck his shoe at Gavin to stop his obnoxious comments for 5 minutes, but he couldn't fight his smile. The redheast couldn't help but cast a glance at Gavin every now and then though, thinking about Geoff's words and the promise he'd made Michael make. Geoff really shouldn't worry. Michael would never let anything happen to Gavin. Michael shook the dark thoughts from his head and fell into their usual bullet-making ritual, making stupid jokes and telling Gavin to shut up every other 5 minutes, unconsciously sneaking in glances at Gavin. As usual, Ray noticed Michael's glances immediately, even though Michael himself was completely unaware of them. The Puerto-Rican couldn't help but smile and gave Gavin a knowing look. The Brit smiled back, eyes sparkling. Neither of them mentioned it, carrying on with their normal banter.

Having finished their preparation, the three men found themselves in front of the industrial warehouse, loading up Michael's jeep , Michael giving Gavin a shout every now and then when he felt like Gavin wasn't handling his jeep with the proper respect. The jeep was a fairly recent Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the redhead was very proud of it. Ray rolled his eyes at every shout, but said nothing, having grown used to this kind of banter over the years.

“So, who's driving?” Ray asked, after having dumped the last of their duffle bags in the trunk. Michael started to suggest he would drive, but was interupted when Gavin loudly announced he was just going to take a nap. The Brit turned around, and opened up the door to the backseat. Michael, however, stepped forward and took a hold of Gavin's wrists.

  
“If you think for one SECOND you're putting those on my beakseat, Free”, he started, motioning towards the Brit's combat boots.

  
“They're perfectly clean Michael!” the Brit whined, but after a stern look from Michael, he started taking them off.

Michael smiled in approval and turned back around to Ray. Upon seeing the keys in Ray's hand, Michael got the message, accepting he'd be riding shotgun for the first few hours. Michael got in the car, watching Gavin slip a beanie over his head and getting comfortable in the backseat. He smiled and felt a smile appear on his face while he buckled his seatbelt.

Ray put his foot to the paddle. And with every passing minute, Michael felt the weight on his shoulders lifting, the smile on his face spreading when he caught a glance of Gavin sleeping on the backseat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I took a few liberties with the build of the boys. You musn't forget they're hunters here, so yeah, they're going to be a lot more muscular and buff than they are IRL, where they're just dorks and gamers (adorable dorks and gamers, I grant you, but those guys wouldn't stand a chance against a damn shifter, let alone a vamp or were pack, so, yeah, I changed their bodies to suit their occupation).


End file.
